New coffee house aims to help people recovering from addiction

On the outside, Hope and Coffee, a new coffee house in Tamaqua, may look like your average cafe. However, at it's core it is so much more.

Lisa Scheller is the founder. Her goal is to give people in recovery a fresh start.

Thursday the public turned out in droves in support of Hope and Coffee's grand opening.

At the event, Scheller opened up about her own past fighting with addiction.

"I saw my progression of addiction continue and continue until one day I found myself as a heroin addict."

35 years later, Scheller is a successful business woman, paying it forward. She hopes the coffee house will serve as a safe space for everyone.

"We came up with the idea that we could do a coffee shop that's mission is to support people in recovery in a family friendly environment," Scheller said, "that also means providing meeting spaces for people who want to create recovery meetings."

One of the ways Hope and Coffee is living up to its name is by making it a point to hire people going through recovery.

"I couldn't dream of being where I am today," supervisor, Sica Brown, said.

Brown says her history with opioids led to a stint behind bars. That made it hard for her to find a job.